Note: If you’re
looking for the 2013 Week 12 Friday night game preview and prediction between
these two teams, please go here: Washington
Huskies vs. UCLA Bruins Pick
UCLA Bruins (4-5 SU, 3-6 ATS) vs. Washington Huskies (3-6 SU, 2-6-1
ATS), Week 12 NCAA Football, 8:00 p.m. EST, Thursday, November 18,
2010, Husky Stadium, Seattle, Wash., TV: ESPN
by Badger of Predictem.com
Betting Odds: UCLA +2.5/Wash -2.5
Over/Under Total: 53
UCLA Bruins head coach Rick Neuheisel will take his new team back to his old
stomping grounds of Husky Stadium in Seattle when the Bruins try to
get another step closer to bowl-eligible in Thursday Nights PAC-10
Conference matchup against the Washington Huskies on ESPN.
At 4-5 with three games remaining the Bruins still have an outside
chance at a bowl bid, but with remaining games against Arizona State
and city rival USC, the Bruins need to put together a winning streak
for that hope to become reality.
The Bruins snapped a three game losing streak in PAC-10 play last
time out, in a 17-14 victory at home over Oregon State back on
November 6th. Quarterback Richard Brehaut continues to get more
comfortable running the Bruins Pistol offense, the Bruins defense
held the Beavers to just 267 yards, and kicker Kai Forbath drilled a
51-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bruins the huge come-
from-behind win.
Washington meanwhile is in the midst of their own three-game slide,
losing their last time out on November 6th in a 53-16 landslide at
Oregon. Quarterback Jake Locker is set to return after missing the
Oregon game with a broken rib, but unless the Huskies did something
about their defense during the bye week (allowing 46 ppg during
losing streak) it wont matter if Locker is back or not.
The sportsbook managers that set the betting odds know the return of
Locker gives Washington a fighting chance, so they opened the game
with the Huskies as the standard 3-point favorites at home in Husky
Stadium. The early steam at the window dropped the point spread to
Washington minus -2.5 quickly, and with most of the money still
coming in on UCLA the number is currently at -2 at a majority of the
sportsbooks on the Web.
The over/under total opened at 53 and has yet to move in either direction.
The biggest matchup on Thursday will be the new UCLA Pistol running
game against a Washington defense that is second to last in Division
1 by allowing 219 yards rushing per game. Its almost a lock that
Bruins running back Jonathan Franklin will hit the 1,000-yard mark in
the game, since hes only 108 yards away from the century mark right
now.
Locker and the Huskies should be able to move the ball just as well
when they have the rock, considering the Bruins run defense is not
much better (192.3 ypg 95th). If the Huskies can get Chris Polk
going on the ground, it should make the Locker-to-Jermaine Kearse
(682 yds., 10 TD) combination even more deadly on play-action.
That same Locker-to-Kearse combo connected for two scores in last
years game in Los Angeles, but UCLA was able to hold on for a 24-23
victory to give the Bruins their third straight win in the series.
Washington covered the spread in the game as 5.5-point underdogs, but
historically this matchup has been very profitable for UCLA backers
as the Bruins are 10-3 ATS since 1997.
The Bruins have covered the number on the road too, going 5-1 ATS in
their last six games in Seattle.
After five straight years from 2000 to 2004 of watching this game go
over the total, the last two years and four of the last five games
have seen the under cash in at the window.
Badgers Pick to Cover the Point Spread: I still cant get a read on the Jekyll and Hyde Bruins
this season, and the return of Locker combined with the Blackout of
the home crowd should be enough to keep Washington in this game till
the end. Instead Im going to play against two of the PAC-10s worst
defenses in this game, with both teams having their way all day in a
shootout. Im playing the over of 53.
